Hydraulic pressure bottle testing method and machine

ABSTRACT

Means are disclosed for automatically filling a group comprising a large number of empty bottles with fluid such as water, advancing the entire group of filled bottles to a first test station where an axial load comparable to capping pressure and internal hydraulic test pressure is simultaneously applied to the mouths of all bottles in the group, then advancing the previously loaded and pressure tested group of bottles to another station where the presence of any ruptured bottles is detected and such broken bottles are selectively disposed of by gravity drop through a trap door while sound bottles are retained by automatic hydrostatic selective chunks and advanced from the tester to a conveyor discharge. Excess water is captured in a tank below the test table, filtered and recirculated, while broken glass may be removed by a discharge.

United States Patent [191 Strauss [451 Nov. 13, 1973 Leopold Strauss, l8Judith Ct., East Rockaway, NY. 11518 [22] Filed: July 17, 1972' [21]Appl. No.: 272,325

[76] Inventor:

{52] U.S. Cl. 209/74 R, 209/75, 209/79,

Primary Examiner--Allen N. Knowles Attorney-Robert A. Buckles et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT Means are disclosed for automatically filling a groupcomprising a large number of empty bottles with fluid such as water,advancing the entire group of filled bottles to a first test stationwhere an axial load comparable to capping pressure and internalhydraulic test pressure is simultaneously applied to the mouths of allbottles in the group, then advancing the previously loaded and pressuretested group of bottles to another station where the presence of anyruptured bottles is detected and such broken bottles are selectivelydisposed of by gravity drop through a trap door while sound bottles areretained by automatic hydrostatic selective chunks and advanced from thetester to a conveyor discharge. Excess water is captured in a tank belowthe test table, filtered and recirculated, while broken glass may beremoved by a discharge.

19 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENIEU NOV 13 I975 SHEET 1 BF 9PAIENIEBIM man 3.771.649

SHEET 3 OF 9 Fi /g. 6

PAIENTEUImv 13 1975 SHEET 5 BF 9 PAIENTED NOV 1 3 I973 SHEET 7 OF 9HYDRAULIC PRESSURE BOTTLE TESTING METHOD AND MACHINE The foregoingabstract is not to be taken either as a complete exposition or as alimitation of the present invention, and in order to understand the fullnature and extent of the technical disclosure of this application,reference must be had to the following detailed description and theaccompanying drawings as well as to the claims.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In all bottling plants, and particularlythose for carbonated beverages such as soft drinks or beer, it isnecessary that bottles be tested for structural weakness before beingfilled with pressurized beverage. In the prior art generally it has beenthe practice to test bottles on a sample basis separately andindividually, either by the application of pneumatic or hydrostaticpressure. In many prior art bottle testing operations it'has'beennecessary for an operator to manually insert a bottle into a teststation and visually observe whether the bottle withstands the appliedpressure; and even in those systems designed for automatically feedingbottles into testing machines it has been necessary to have an attendantoperator to remove defective bottles. In the prior art, bottles whichhave withstood internally applied test pressure may nevertheless besubsequently broken by the bottle capping machine which applies asubstantial axial load in the process of affixing and crimping thebottle caps. One form of prior art automatic pressure tester for glasscontainers employs a rotary table test station into which a single lineof bottles is fed by a conveyor and. pneumatic pressure is automaticallyapplied to individual bottles as they pass therethrough. Because of theexplosive reactionof defective bottles subjected to pneumatic pressureit is necessary for the rotary table in such devices to be completelyenclosed in a heavy steel casing and thoroughly sound proofed to reducethe explosive noise level. By the present invention employinghydrostatic as distinguished from pneumatic pressure testing I not onlyeliminate the hazards and noise of explosions but, even moreimportantly, provide means for automatically and simultaneously testinga large number of bottles, comprising as many as several case loads atonce, whereby bottles are axially loaded and tested hydraulically atbottle filling line speeds. Bottles may be fed into the present testerby the case load from an uncaser, or in bulk from a pallet or conveyorbelt. The present invention also includes means for uniformly spacingand accurately centering bottles to be tested, and for automaticallymoving groups of bottles through successive stages of the testingmachine, thereby providing more rapid as well as safer and moreefficient testing of bottles with minimal attention of a production lineoperator. Defective bottles in any group under test are automaticallyand selectively removed from the test lines without disturbing theremaining sound bottles. Furthermore, by simultaneously subjectingbottles to axial loading comparable to the axial forces applied bycapping machines, they are automatically tested for axial loads as wellas internal pressure integrity.

OBJECTS OF TI-IE INVENTION The object of the invention is, therefore, toprovide a method and machine for more rapid axial and pressure testingof closed containers, such as bottles,

wherein quantities of containers arranged in groups are simultaneouslyand automatically subjected to preselected axial loads and internalpressure, and defective containers are automatically and selectivelydisposed of without the intervention of a human operator, all at fillingline speeds.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a pressure testingmachine designed for continuous auto- Other objects of the inventionwill in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relationof one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and theapparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elementsand arrangement of parts which are adapted to effect such steps, all asexemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of theinvention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical front view of theapparatus of the invention in a first embodiment, with a portion of thecarrier table and tank section therebelow cut away;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional end view taken along the line 2-2of FIG. 1, showing a bottle carrier engaged with the linear transfermembers;

FIG. 3 is a vertical detail in cross-section showing a testpressure headengaged with a liquid filled bottle before hydraulic pressure isapplied;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional detail similar to FIG. 3 showing the testhead fully depressed to apply hydraulic pressure;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a broken bottle test head engagedwith the mouth and neck of a bottle which has been subjected to internalhydraulic pressure by a test head as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross'sectional view of a test head similar to FIG. 5 butshowing the release of a bottle tested thereby and found to be broken;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the test head of FIG. 5 in theoperation of releasing a sound bottle;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a honeycomb bottle carrier as employedin the apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a vertical front view, similar to FIG. 1, of an alternativeembodiment of the invention adapted for receiving empty bottles in bulkfrom a conveyor belt and for automatically grouping, spacing andcentering a preselected quantity of bottles for movement throughthe-pressure testing apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a horizontal top view of a portion of the input station ofFIG. 9, partially cut away, showing the mechanism for uniformly spacingand centering bottles at the input station of the embodiment shown inFIG.

FIG. 1 l is a vertical cross-sectional view of the bottle spacingmechanism taken along line 11--1 l of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 11 but showing theprogressive movement of the bottle centering platen to its uppermostposition wherein individual bottle holding pins extend upwardly throughparallel slots in the table top;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 12 but showing furtherprogressive movement of the bottle spacing mechanism wherein the severalsegments of the platen are fully extended to the right and thesupporting pins have uniformly spaced the group of bottles in thislongitudinal direction; and

FIG. 14 is a vertical end view of the bottle spacing and centering inputstation according to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9-13, showingthe bottle centering pins fully retracted below the level of the testtable top but with the forward gate stop pins remaining in elevatedposition.

SUMMARY OF THE OPERATION OF THE INVENTION In the first embodimentdisclosed by FIGS. 1 through 8 bottles may be initially fed into theapparatus of the invention from a standard uncaser as found inpractically all bottling plants. The uncaser picks up 24 bottles at atime and deposits them onto the entrance apron of the testing machine. Ahoneycomb type of carrier tray, having 24 octagonal partitions, open attop and bottom, decends from an overhead conveyor and surrounds thebottles, centering them uniformly in equally spaced relation to eachother.

A pair of parallel horizontally disposed reciprocating conveyor armsengages lugs on opposite sides of the carrier tray and slides thecarrier and its bottles from the entrance apron into a first fillposition under 24 gravity fed water spouts which rapidly pour water intoeach bottle. After a brief pause at the first fill position the bottlesare substantially but not completely filled with fluid. The linearconveyor then moves the carrier and its case of bottles under a secondset of adjacent water spouts which complete the filling operation at areduced rate of flow, topping off each bottle with a minimum of overflowspillage. Excess water flows through holes in the table beneath thebottles and into a clean water tank from which it is recirculated to thefilling spouts.

As the first carrier tray is moved into the second fill station, asucceeding tray is also moved simultaneously under the first fillingspouts by the same linear conveyor mechanism so that the operation,though employing intermittent motion, is nevertheless continuous. Byvirture of the recycling water pump, water may flow continuously fromall the filling spouts thus eliminating any need for liquid valving.

The linear conveyor next moves the completely filled group of bottles intheir carrier under a test pressure station comprising a vertical presssection having 24 hydraulic pressure heads. The pressure heads come downsimultaneously onto the top of the bottles, in sealing engagement withthe mouth-of each bottle, and automatically apply both an axial forcecomparable to a capping operation and a preselected hydraulic pressureas desired, for a specified time, after which all the pressure heads arelifted and the bottle carrier is transported to the next position undera broken bottle test head. This station is also a press section at whichtwenty-four heads come down into sealing engagement with the mouths ofthe bottles, each head inserts a preloaded plunger into its bottlethrough the seal, and if pressure maintains between the head and bottlea chuck clamps around the bottle neck. If pressure is not maintainedbetween the head and bottle, as will occur if the bottle is split or hasa broken sidwall, the test plunger will move down its full stroke,thereby disengaging the chuck and releasing the bottle.

A trap door in the test table under the bottle carrier at this laststation is then automatically opened and any broken bottles falltherethrough into a cullet water tank, since their corresponding chucksare maintained open. The trap door is then closed, the pressure headsand chucks are released and lifted. Before the trap door is opened thepressure behind the test plungers is relieved so that the chucks carryonly the weight of the filled bottles and not the plunger load.

On the next index transfer cycle of the linear conveyor, the carrier andits remaining fully tested bottles are moved onto an exit conveyor beltwhile a carrier elevator engages the carrier to lift it up from thebottles to an overhead track from whence it is returned to the startingposition, while the tested bottles are transported by the conveyor beltinto a rinser, or are delivered to a bottling machine.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT In the second embodiment, disclosed by FIGS. 9through 14, the operation of the fill stations, pressure heads, fluiddisplacement test heads and selectively releasable bottle chucks remainssubstantially the same as in the first described embodiment. However, asthis alternative embodiment of the invention is adapted to receivebottles in bulk rather than from an uncaser, it is capable of testinglarger groups of bottles and of delivering proven sound bottles at aneven faster rate.

The input station of this embodiment of the invention receives bottlesin bulk, disposed in upright position but in random order, on acontinuously moving conveyor belt and it must align selected groups ofbottles (each group may comprise several cases) in uniform horizontalspacing with accurate centering so that the mouth of each bottle iscorrectly positioned beneath the pressure test heads. Laterally disposedspacer bars fixed above the input station table top separate the bottlesinto a plurality of parallel linear rows as the conveyor belt movesthereunder. Vertically movable stops at the downstream end of the inputtable initially limit the movement of bottles in this direction whilesimilar vertically moveable stops rise at the upstream end of the inputtable to restrain oncoming randomly dispersed bottles on the conveyorbelt from entering the input table when all rows between spacers havebeen filled. The input table top surface on which the rows of adjacentbottles now rest is provided with a plurality of laterally extendinglinearly slidable blocks, of approximately the same width as the bottlesdiameter, which are next moved linearly to provide uniform linearseparation between adjacent bottles in each row, thus effecting uniformseparation of all bottles of the group in two directions, in arectilinear grid pattern as viewed from above. With the selected groupof bottles thus arranged, a honeycomb open bottom conveyor case descendsfrom an overhead carrier and surrounds the entire group of uniformlyspaced bottles for controlled movement of the group under the fillingheads, and

thence under the pressure test heads and selectively operable chucks inthe same manner as employed in the first embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in greater detail to FIG. I of thedrawings, which shows a vertical side view of the simpler of twoillustrative embodiments, an uncaser illustrated generally at receives asuccession of cases of empty containers such as at 21 and successivelylifts and deposits each case load onto the input apron 22 of ahorizontal test table 24. A bottle carrier such as 25, which is open atits top and bottom and partitioned with a plurality of honeycomb dividerwalls (as shown in perspective by FIG. 8) is lowered by an overheadconveyor mechanism indicated generally at 26 over the tops of and aroundthe case load of upright bottles 27 now standing on the entrance apron22 of test table 24. Each bottle carrier such as has on its oppositeends a pair of lug engaging cars 28 (as also shown in perspective byFIG. 8), which are engageable with rotatable lugs 29-29 (FIG. 2) onhorizontally reciprocating conveyor shafts 30-30.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2 of the drawings it will beseen that the bottle carriers such as 25 are guided longitudinallybetween two parallel guide rails 31-31 which are mounted upon and extendthe length of the test table top 24. Lug ears 28-28 protrude over thetop of guide rails 31-31 and engage with lugs 29-29 on conveyor shafts30-30 when the lugs 29 are in their horizontal position as shown insolid lines in FIG. 2. A reciprocating mechanism (not shown) moves theconveyor shafts 30-30 longitudinally (from left to right in FIG. I) adistance equal to the spacing between adjacent lugs 29-29 on shafts30-30; then the conveyor shafts 30-30 are rotated through approximately45 to disengage the lugs 29 from the ears 28, as shown by broken linesin FIG. 2, and the shafts 30-30 are then reciprocably moved in theopposite direction (from right to left in FIG. 1) the same distance andthe lugs 29 are again rotated into their horizontal position as shown bysolid lines in FIG. 2 to engage the ears 28 of the next adjacent carrier25.

In this manner each bottle carrier is moved successively, as shown inFIG. 1, from the input station A where bottles and carrier are restingupon input apron 22, to station B where each bottle in the carrier ispositioned beneath a fast fill" water spout 32, thence on the nextreciprocating stroke of conveyor shafts 30 to position C where eachbottle is beneath a slow fill spout to top off" the filling of allbottles, thence to station D where an axial load and internal fluidpressure test is performed, thence to station E where broken bottles arediscarded, and finally to station F where the carrier 25 is lifted byvertically reciprocating elevator mechanism 35, and the tested andproven sound bottles are deposited on a conveyor belt 36 which maytransport them to a bottling machine. A piston operator 37 kicks orpushes the elevated carrier 25' from the jaws of lifting mechanism ontothe rollers 39 of an overhead inclined roller track whereby emptycarriers are recirculated by gravity to a starting gate 38 which israised at regularly timed intervals by an overhead piston operator 39 toallow the front carrier to enter the closed jaws of carrier loweringmechanism 26.

Referring once again to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the portion of the testtable 24 beneath the liquid fill stations B and C is provided with aplurality of openings 40 which allow excess water from fill spouts 32and 34 (FIG. 1) to flow through the table top into a large funnel 41therebeneath and thence into a clean water collection tank 42 fromwhence this water passes through a bottom drain 44 and connecting pipe45 to a recirculating pump (not shown) into fill pipe 46. Stillreferring to FIG. 1, the fill spouts 32 at first fill station B havelargely unrestricted openings to allow rapid substantial filling ofbottles at this station, while fill spouts 34 at the second fillstation, C, are provided with more restricted openings to facilitatetoping off the filling of all bottles with a minimum of splashing andexcess water overflow. As the water flowingfrom spouts 32 and 34 may runcontinuously during the operation of the machine, no liquid valving isrequired.

From the final fill station C (FIG. I) the carrier 25, with its bottlesfilled to their very tops with water, is advanced to pressure teststation D where a hydraulic press platen indicated generally at D,carrying the same number of hydraulic pressure valves 48 as there arebottles in the carrier, is brought down forcefully into pressure sealingengagement with the open tops of all the glass containers thereunder.The details of construction and operation of the hydraulic pressurevalves 48 will now be described with particular reference to FIG. 3 andFIG. 4 of the drawings.

Referring first to FIG. 3, each of the hydraulic pressure test valvesindicated generally at 48 comprises an outer cylindrical sleeve 49slidably mounted on an inner cylindrical sleeve member 50 the upper endof which is joined to the bottom surface of platen 47. A central valvestem 51 within inner cylinder 50 has a valve head 52 formed on its lowerend which normally rests in sealing engagement with a valve seat 54formed within the lower end of outer cylinder 49. A flange 55 formed onthe upper end of valve stem 51 abuts the bottom surface of platen 47 andthe valve stem 51 is thereby securely mounted on platen 47 through athreaded end 56. A helical compression spring 57 surrounds cylinder 50to apply downward pressure between platen 47 and outer sleeve 49,thereby normally maintaining closed sealing engagement between themating surfaces of valve head 52 and valve seat 54. An annular ring 58of resilient material such as rubber or plastic is secured tothe bottomend of outer cylinder 49 to provide pressure tight sealing engagementwith the mouth 59 of a glass container such as bottle 60 when the valvehead 48 is brought down upon the glass container by downward movement ofplaten 47. A hydraulic pressure line 61 is passed through platen 47 todeliver high pressure fluid into the hydraulic valve head 48. Thus FIG.3 illustrates the condition as valve head 48 makes initial contact withthe mouth 59 of bottle 60 upon partial downward movement of press platen47, with the valve 52-54 still clsoed under the force of compressionspring 57.

Referring next to FIG. 4, the condition of full depression of pressplaten 47 is illustrated. Here the spring 57 is substantially fullycompressed against thecollar of outer sleeve 49, the outer cylindricalsleeve 49 has moved upwardly away from valve head 52 to open the valveand admit the full hydraulic test pressure into bottle 60 as indicatedby the arrows, and the mouth 59 of bottle 60 has compressed annular ring58 to apply a substantial axial mechanical load upon the bottle 60-under test. If the bottle 60 has any defects in its manufacture, such asa thin wall or intolerable air bubble in the glass, or if it hassustained a crack in handling or structural stress during cooling orannealing it will now break under the combined influence of the appliedinternal pressure and the axial load imparted by the downward force thepress platen 47. Immediately upon structural failure of the bottle 60,dueto any of many possible defects, internal pressure is lost and thecompression spring 57 drives the outer valve sleeve 49 downwardly toclose the hydraulic pressure valve between valve stem head 52 and valveseat 54. It should be borne in mind that this testing operation isperformed simultaneously on a plurality of bottles, inasmuch as thereare provided as many test heads 48 as there are bottles positioned underplaten 47 at test station D in FIG. 1.

Referring once again to FIG. 1 of the drawings, after completion of thetest operation as described above, the test platen 47 carrying theplurality of test heads 48 is raised from engagement with the testedbottles and the reciprocating linear conveyor 30 is again moved to theright to transport the carrier 25 from test station D to disposalstation E. Any broken bottles from the testing at station D remain intheir honeycomb compartments of the carrier 25 and are moved along withsound bottles to station E, where a second press platen indicatedgenerally at 62, carrying a plurality of bottle gripping chucksindicated generally at 64, is brought down by a vertically operatinghydraulic piston, indicated generally at 65, to cause all of the chucks64 to surround the necks of bottles remaining upstanding in carrier 25.The detailed operation of platen 62 (which actually comprises twoseparately moveable platen plates) and chucks 64 will now be describedwith reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 of the drawings.

Referring now to FIG. the details of construction and operation of thechucks 64 will be described in the first case when they encounter asound bottle which has passed the dual tests applied previously atstation D. An upper platen 66 mounted on and supported by a piston shaft67 of vertical piston operator 65, and moveable vertically thereby,carries beneath it a secondary platen 68 which is mounted in a parallelplane to platen 66 on a plurality of vertical studs 69 slidably passedthrough bushings 70 and secured to the under side of platen 66 a as byend screw threads 71. A header end, or a pair of lock nuts 72, affixedto the lower end of the studs 69 limits downward motion of secondaryplaten 68 with respect to the position of upper platen 66. A secondvertical piston operator 74 mounted on platen 66 has a verticallymoveable piston shaft 75 passing through a concentric vertical hole inplaten 66 and secured to platen 68 as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 7 of the drawings, the bottle chucksindicated generally at 64, of which one is shown in detail (partially insection) by FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, comprise a fixed central core portionindicated generally as 80 which may be assembled from four concentric.cylindrical members, 76, 77, 78 and 79 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,passed through platens 66 and 68 and rigidly secured to upper platen 66by annular shoulders 81 and 82. Shoulder 81 is formed by the upper endof cylindrical member 79 while shoulder 82 is formed on member 78 andthese two parts are securely held together in locking engagement withplaten 66 by screw threads 84. Within a cylindrical coaxial bore in thebottom end of member 79 a hollow cylindrical plunger 85 is slidablymounted. An annluar bushing 86 threadably secured to the bottom end ofplunger 85 has a resilient annular sealing member 87 affixed theretowith an elongated vertically slidable shaft 88 passing through an axialopening therein, as shown in each of FIGS. 5 through 7. A helicalcompression spring 89 surrounds member 79 and is compressed betweenannular shoulder 90 formed on member 79 and an annular ring 91threadably mounted in the upper end of an outer cylindrical member 92.An inner concentric helical spring 94 around elongaged plunger 88 isheld in compression between the upper annular end of hollow cylindricalplunger 85 and the lower end of member 78. Packing means 95 within thebore of cylinder 78 forms a pressure tight slidable bearing for verticalplunger shaft 88 to prevent loss of operative fluid pressure introducedthrough pressure line 96 and port 97 into cylinder 98.

Referring once again more particularly to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of thedrawings, an upper pressure port 99 is provided in member 78 for theadmission of operative pressure fluid to the top side of piston 100which is secured to shaft 88 by a locking ring 101. An upper packingseal 102 provides a pressure tight upper slidable bearing for shaft 88within cylindrical member 76. Shaft 88 passes freely through an opening104 in a header yoke 105 which is mounted on the upper ends of a pair ofchuck operating rods 106 and 107. A pair of lock nuts 108 affixed to theupper end of shaft 88 are adapted to engage header 105 when shaft 88 isdriven downwardly by operation of piston 100 and thereby to drive rods106 and 107 downwardly against the upper end of outer cylindrical sleeve92, against the force of compression spring 89, as shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and more clearly in the enlarged view of FIG.7, a plurality of bottle gripping fingers 109 and 110 are pivotallymounted on the lower end of inner cylindrical member 79 at pivots 111and 112, and are normally biased to swing outwardly by bent leaf springs114 and 116 into an enlarged annular cavity 117 formed within the lowerend of outer sleeve 92. An inward turned annular shoulder l 18 formed onthe bottom open end of sleeve 92 is adapted to engage sloping camsurfaces 119 and 120 of fingers 109 and 110 and to move these fingersinwardly into bottle gripping position when sleeve 92 is in itsuppermost position as shown in FIG. 5, and to allow fingers 109 and 110to swing outwardly under the influence of springs 114 and 116 intobottle releasing position when sleeve 92 is in its lowered position asshown by FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. As also shown by reference to FIG. 6 andFIG. 7, the outer sleeves 92 of the bottle chucks indicated generally at64 may be moved downwardly into their open position either by downwardmotion of secondary platen 68 with respect to primary platen 66 throughoperation of piston 74 to extend piston shaft 75, thereby causing thelowered platen 68 to engage the annular shoulder 121 of sleeve 92 (asshown in FIG. 7), or by depression of rods 106 and 107 through thedownward action of piston 100. During the initial lowering of all thehydraulic pressure test valves 64 (FIG. 1) at station D the piston shaft75 of piston operator 74 is in its extended position and all of thechuck fingers such as 109 and 110 are in their open position to allowthe gaskets 87 to sealingly engage the mouths of all bottles positionedthereunder. During the movement of the test heads into this downwardmostposition a controlled fluid pressure is maintained through port 97 tohold piston 100 and shaft 88 in their uppermost positions as shown inFIG. 5. Immediately after attaining sealing engagement of all thegaskets such as 87 onto the mouths of bottles at station E (FIG. 1),piston operator 74 is operated to retract piston shaft 75 and to raisesecondary platen 68 whereby all of the chuck sleeves such as 92 areraised under the influence of helical compression springs such as 89 toclose the bottle gripping chuck fingers as shown in FIG. 5. Next insequence the test pressure is transferred from all the lower ports suchas 97 to the upper ports 99 (FIG. 5 and FIG. 6), thereby applyingdownward force to pistons 100 and shafts 88 of all the test heads atstation E (FIG. 1). All of the sound bottles which have withstood theinternal hydraulic pressure and axial loading previously applied atstation D, such as bottle 122 in FIG. 5, remain filled with water and,because of the pressure tight seal between gasket 87 and the mouths ofthe bottles such as 122, the shafts 88 are prevented from movingdownwardly into the mouths of the sound bottles. However, in the eventthat a bottle under any test head 64 has broken, cracked or otherwisefailed to remain filled with water following the application of internalpressure and axial loading at station D, then the plunger shaft 88 isfree to move down as shown in FIG. 6 until the lock nuts 108 on itsupper end engage yoke 105 to drive down rods 106 and 107 whereby sleeve92 is depressed into its chuck opening position and the defective bottleis released.

At this stage of operations a trap door 124 (FIG. 1) in the test tabletop 24 beneath station E is opened, as shown by broken lines in FIG. 1,and all the defective bottles fall therethrough into a broken glasscompartment 125. Thereafter trap door 124 is again closed, piston 74 isagain operated to move secondary platen 68 downwardly whereby all of thechuck sleeves which have not been previously operated by pins 106-107are now moved down to open all the bottle gripping fingers 109-110, asshown in FIG. 7. With all the chucks now disengaged piston 65 (FIG. 1and FIG. 5) is operated to raise platens 66 and 68 in concert, andreciprocating horizontal conveyor 30 moves the carrier 25 and its provenbottles from station E to station F as shown in FIG. 1. Next thecarrierlift mechanism 35 is lowered to engage the carrier'25 at stationF and to lift the carrier from the tested bottles on conveyor belt tothe overhead track 39 whence it eventually recirculates to the startingposition at station A. Meanwhile horizontal reciprocating conveyor 30again disengages all carriers 25 on test table 24, indexes to the leftone full stroke (i.e., the distance between adjacent carriers atstations A through E), latches onto another carrier full of emptybottles at station A and thereafter reciprocates a full stroke to theright (as shown in FIG. 1) to advance all carriers on the test table totheir next station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT Reference is now had toFIG. 9 of the drawings which represents a vertical front view, partiallycut away, of an alternative input station A for a bottle testing systemand machine according to the present invention. In this embodiment theconstruction and operation of the remaining portion to the right ofstation A in FIG. 9 remains substantially as described hereinabove withreference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 8. The principal difference in thisalternative embodiment is that instead of utilizing an uncaser tosuccessively deposit case loads of empty bottles onto the entrance apronat station A, bottles are received in bulk, as randomly placed on acontinuously mvoing conveyor belt 126. Bottles placed on the conveyorbelt 126 in upright position are contained thereon by a pair of parallelside rails of which only the rear one 127 is shown in FIG. 9. Aplurality of entrance gate pins 128 extend vertically through theleading edge of the entrance apron table surface at station A and areoperated upward and donwwardly by an entrance gate cylinder 129 beneaththe table at station A. A plurality of parallel linear separator bars130 extend from right to left, as shown in FIG. 9, parallel to the tabletop surface at input station A, above the table surface and over theexit or downstream end of conveyor belt 126 as indicated at 131.

Referring now to FIG. 10, which is an enlarged top plan view of inputstation A (partially cut away), the means for uniformly spacing andcentering bottles in this embodiment will be described in greaterdetail. Linearly extending spacer bars such as 131 through 131e as shownin FIG. 10 are tapered toward a smoothly rounded point at their upstream(left) ends as shown at 132 through 132e, whereby bottles beingtransported on conveyor belt 126, which moves from left to right asshown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, are caused to enter into the spacersbetween spacer bars 13l-131e and thus are aligned in uniformly spacedlinear columns upon the entrance table surface at station A (FIG. 9). Apair of donwstream gate pins such as 134a through l34e at the righthandend of-the entrance table protrude upwardly through parallel slots 135athrough 135:: in the entrance table, surface 136, which is convenie'ntlyformed of a plurality of equally spaced parallel flat bars having theirtop surfaces all mounted in a common plane. Gate pins 134a through 1342are rigidly mounted on a vertically moveable rod 137 which extendslaterally beneath the table surface 136 and is actuated up or down bymechanism which will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 11.Groups of four equally spaced bottle retaining pins, such as 138 in FIG.10, are mounted on adjacent laterally extending slidable blocks 1390through 139d beneath the table surface l36and are e xtendable upwardlythrough slots 135a-135e. The four laterally extending, linearly slidableblocks 139a-139d are connected to each other by extensible linkage suchas counterbored socket screws 140a, 140b, and 1400, while the righthandend block 139d is connected to a linearly moveable horizontal pistonshaft 141 which is operable by a hydraulic cylinder 142. A plurality ofcompression springs 144a-l44d may be inserted in aligned openingsbetween adjacent blocks 139a-139d as shown in FIG. 10 to facilitaterapid and uniform linear spacing of said blocks when piston shaft 141 isoperated to the right.

Reference is now had to FIG. 11 of the drawings which is a verticalsectional view taken along the line 11-1l ofFIG. 10. The blocks 139athrough 139d beneath the entrance table surface 136 rest upon and areslidable over the top surface of a plurality of horizontal supportingbars 145. The linearly extending horizontal bars 145 are supported upona plurality of laterally extending members 146 secured to the top of avertically moveable platen 147. Platen 147 is positioned and guided by apair of vertical posts 148a-148b rigidly mounted to a floor base 149,while vertical motion is imparted to platen 147 by a hydraulic presscylinder 150 also secured to floor base 149. When the blocks 139a-139dare in their initial positions adjacent to each other, and the platen147 is in its lowermost position as shown in FIG. 11, all of the bottleretaining pins such as 138 are withdrawn beneath the surface 136 of theentrance station table, but the downstream gate pins such as 134a remainprotruding above the surface 136. As shown in FIG. 11 the gate pin 134ahas its bottom end formed as a spring loaded cam follower 151 (as do allthe other downstream gate pins 134b-134e in FIG. which in this positionrests upon a horizontal cam surface 152. In the initial loadingoperation all the front gate stop pins such as 128 are lowered beneaththe table surface 136 by downward operation of gate cylinder hydraulicoperator 129, so that bottles arriving on conveyor belt 126 are pushedthereby between linear guide bars 130 until further bottle motion isstopped by downstream gate pins 134a-134e. When each column between bars130 over the top of input table surface 136 has been filled with (fouras shown in FIG. 11) bottles, gate operator 129 raises front gate pins128 to halt further movement of bottles on belt 126 onto the entrancetable.

Referring now to FIG. 12 of the drawings, the next sequential operationfollowing elevation of front gate pins 128 is elevation of platen 147 byupward operation of vertical press cylinder 150, which causes the bottleretaining pins 138 to rise through slots 136 (FIG. 10) above the tablesurface 136. At this time the rear, or downstream, gate pins 134 alsoextend further above the surface 136 as shown in FIG. 12 but thiscondition will be changed upon the next sequential operation asillustrated in FIG. 13.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the next sequence is retraction of horizontalpiston 141 by hydraulic cylinder operator 142 which effectivelystretches out blocks 139a-139d by sliding them from left to right alongthe surfaces of horizontal bars 145. The blocks l39a-l39d are uniformlyspaced in this operation by their interconnecting linkages (140a, 14%and 1400 FIG. 10) and their movement into uniform linearly spacedrelation is further facilitated by the interposed compression springs144a144d. Also with this downstream movement (to the right in FIG. 13)the rear gate pins such as 134a are retracted to the same height as pins138 by reason of their cam follower lower ends such as 151 sliding fromleft to right off of elevated cam surface 152 and down inclined camsurface 154 to the lowermost cam surface 155. The next operation islowering of platen 147 by downward operation of hydraulic piston 150,which then withdraws all of the bottle retaining pins 138, and rear gatepins 134, beneath the surface 136 of the entrance station table.Following this operation a honeycomb carrier (FIG. 8) as shown at 25 inFIG. 9 is lowered by the overhead piston mechanism 26 to surround thesegregated and unfirmly spaced group of bottles at station A, and thereciprocating linear conveyor rods 30 are indexed to the left to engagethe carrier 25 and then move it and its empty bottles to the firstfilling station B as illustrated in FIG. 9. After the carrier hasremoved the group of bottles from station A to station B the piston 141(FIG. 13) is again operated to the left, and the apparatus is restoredto the condition illustrated in FIG. 11, except that now there are notbottles resting on blocks l39a-139d as bottles on the conveyor belt 126are still restrained by elevated front stop pins 128. The finaloperation to reinitiate the cycle of sequential operations describedhereinabove is actuation of vertical piston cyclinder 129 to lower theentrance gate pins 128 and admit another group of bottles to theentrance station.

Referring now to FIGS. 14-16 further details of construction of theapparatus of the invention are shown. FIG. 14 is a vertical end view,partially cut away, of the bottle separating and spacing input stationas illustrated and described above with reference to FIG. 9 through FIG.13. In this illustrative embodiment the input table, of which only theright half was shown in plan view by FIG. 10, is adapted to receive,segregate into groups and uniformly separate twelve linear rows ofbottles 60, each row being four bottles deep as shown and describedabove with reference to FIGS. 10-FIG. 13, thus accommodating, groupingand testing forty eight bottles (equivalent to two case loads)simultaneously, and continuously repeating the successive simultaneousoperations as new bottles are fed into the apparatus from a continuousconveyor belt. As shown in FIG. 14 all of the input gate pins 128, whichserve in their elevated positions to temporarily restrain bottles on theconveyor belt until the input station is empty and ready to receiveanother batch, are mounted on and extend vertically upward from ahorizontal bar 156 which is supported near its opposite ends on verticalpiston shafts l57157 of hydraulic piston operators 129-429. Thevertically moveable input station platen 147, through which gate pins128 pass freely, is supported at its opposite ends on the verticalpiston shafts 153153 of hydraulic press cylinders l50l50. Pistoncylinders 129 are firmly secured to the frames of cylinders 150 bymounting plates 158 whereby both cylinders 129 and 150 are rigidlymounted to the floor base 149. The cam follower bottom ends 151 of reargate pins 134 bear upon the top surface of cam 154 which extends throughsubstantially the entire width of input station platen 147 as shown inFIG. 14. The linearly slidable blocks 139 on which bottle retaining pinsare mounted also extend the full width of platen 147 as shown in FIG.14, while a pair of horizontally disposed linearly operable blockextending piston operators 142 are mounted on opposite sides of platen147. Four vertical guide posts 148 secured to floor base 149 slidablysup port platen 147 at opposite corners thereof as shown by FIG. 11 andFIG. 14, to maintain platen 147 and the apparatus supported thereonconstantly in parallel horizontal planes throughout its verticaloperation by hydraulic cylinders 150. As also shown in end view by FIG.14 the input station table surface 136 is preferably formed of parallelelongated channel members 159 having depressed linear central portions160 to reduce frictional engagement with the bottoms of bottlessupported thereon. As also shown in FIG. 14 through FIG. 16 the linearseparator bars which extend between linear channel members 160, leavingslots therebetween through which vertically operable pins 128, 134 and138 may rise, are preferably provided with removable plastic shoulderstrips 161 which are adapted to slidably engage the side walls ofbottles 60 whereby the bottles are guided in linear sliding motion witha minimum of friction.

As shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, guide strips such as 161 and 162 ofdiffering widths may be installed on rails 130 to adapt the apparatus ofthe invention to accommodate different sizes of bottles, as may bedesired. Of course, when bottle sizes are changed the carriers 25 mustalso be changed to provide differently sized honeycomb inserts (FIG. 8).The hydraulic press mechanism which operates the test head platens atstations D and E (FIG. 1 may be adjusted to operate at differentvertical positions in order to accommodate bottles of any given height.The sequence of operation of the several piston operators as describedhereinabove may be controlled by any suitable timing mechanism, eitherelectrical or mechanical, whereby the apparatus of the invention may beoperated continuously and automatically to successively test largegroups of glass containers for structural integrity.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and,since certain changes may be madein carrying out the above method and inthe constructions set forth without departing from the scope of theinvention, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specifiofeatures of the invention which, asa matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. Means for testing closed containers comprising in combination,

A. first means for simultaneously applying a preselected axial load andpreselected internal test pressure to a plurality of containers, and

B. second selective holding means separate from said first means forretaining containers which withstand said axial load and internal testpressure and for simultaneously releasing all containers which fail towithstand either said axial load or said internal test pressure.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said holding means comprises incombination,

A. a cyclically operable and closable bottom support beneath saidseparate holding means,

B. a selectively releasable top support for each container under test,and

C. sensing means responsive to the presence of internal pressure withina container to maintain said top support in closed container holdingcondition while releasing said top support when no internal pressure issensed.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said pressure applying meansincludes means for simultaneously filling all of said containers withfluid, and said holding means comprises in combination,

A. a selectively operable top engaging chuck for each tested containerhaving,

1. means for sensing the displacement of fluid within a container, and

2. means responsive to the sensing of fluid displacement to open saidchuck and release a container in which fluid displacement is sensed.

4. In an automatic testing machine for determining structural integrityof closed containers as defined by claim 1, the combination comprising,

A. a plurality of container engaging chucks,

B. fluid sensing means within said chucks whereby individual chucks areselectively operated in a first mode to release containers in whichfluid displacement is sensed, and

C. further means within said chucks operable in a second mode to releaseall of said container engaging chucks simultaneously, whereby soundcontainers are disengaged from the testing machine.

5. In an automatic testing machine for simultaneously determining thestructural integrity of preselected groups of containers, thecombination comprising,

A. a plurality of portable honeycomb carriers each adapted to contain agroup of containers,

1. centering means in each of said carriers for uniformly positioningthe group of containers therein,

B. means for positioning each said carrier individually and successivelyon a preselected group of containers at' an entrance station of saidtesting machine,

C. reciprocating conveyor means engageable with said carriers sopositioned for transporting said carriers and containers to successivestations of said testing machine, and

D. recirculating conveyor means for removing each said carrier from itsgroup of containers upon completion of testing and for returning eachsaid carrier so removed to said entrance station.

6. Means for simultaneously testing a plurality of containers forstructural integrity which comprises in combination,

A. means for filling all of said containers substantially simultaneouslywith afluid,

B. means for applying a preselected fluid test pressure simultaneouslyto all of said filled containers for a predetermined time, and

C. releasable holding means responsive to fluid displacement sensingmeans for selectively engaging those containers which withstand saidpreselected fluid test pressure and for releasing those containers whichhave failed structurally following application of said preselected testpressure.

7. The method of simultaneously testing a plurality of containers forhidden structural weakness which comprises the steps of:

A. first filling said plurality of containers substantiallysimultaneously with a fluid,

B. then subjecting said plurality of filled containers to a preselectedfluid test pressure applied simultaneously to all of said containers fora predetermined time,

C. thereafter testing all of said previously pressurized containers forfluid integrity by sensing fluid displacement, and discarding thosecontainers in which fluid displacement is detected while retaining onlythose containers that have withstood said test pressure and in which nosubstantial fluid displacement is sensed.

8. A pressure testing machine for closed containers comprising incombination,

A. means for simultaneously moving a preselected plurality of emptycontainers under a corresponding plurality of liquid filling spouts,whereby all of said containers are completely filled with liquidsubstantially simultaneously,

B. means for connecting a corresponding plurality of hydraulic pressurelines substantially simultaneously to said plurality of containers, andfor applyling a preselected hydraulic pressure to each of saidcontainers simultaneously for a predetermined time,

C. means for subsequently applying a corresponding plurality of fluiddisplacement sensors to said plurality of containers,

1. said fluid displacement sensors including releasable means forengaging and holding each container in which no substantial fluiddisplacement is sensed and for releasing containers in which fluiddisplacement is sensed.

9. A pressure testing machine for containers comprising in combination,

A. means for simultaneously moving a preselected plurality of emptycontainers under a corresponding plurality of liquid filling spouts,whereby all of said containers are completely filled with liquidsubstantialy simultaneously,

B. means for connecting a corresponding plurality of hydraulic pressurelines substantially simultaneously to said plurality of containers, andfor applying a preselected hydraulic pressure to all of said containerssimultaneously for a predetermined time,

C. means for subsequently applying a corresponding plurality of liquiddisplacement sensors to said plurality of containers,

1. said displacement sensors including releasable means for engaging andholding each container in which no substantial displacement is sensedand for releasing containers in which displacement is sensed,

D. means for disposing by gravity those containers not engaged and heldby said displacement sensing means, and

E. means for subsequently releasing those containers engaged by saidreleasable means and for moving said subsequently released containersonto an exit conveyor.

10. A pressure testing machine for containers according to claim 8wherein:

A. said container moving means comprises a topless and bottomlesshoneycomb carrier adapted to engagingly fit over and substantiallysurround a plurality of containers rested on a plane table surface, andi i l. a pair of parallel horizontally reciprocating conveyor rodsreleasably engageable with opposite sides of said carrier to slide saidcarrier and containers therein to successive positions on said planetable surface.

11. A pressure testing machine for containers according to claim 8wherein said means for connecting a plurality of hydraulic pressurelines to said containers comprises a vertically reciprocable pressplaten having mounted thereon,

A. a plurality of individual hydraulic pressure heads corresponding tosaid plurality of containers, each said pressure head:

1. connected with a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure,

2. slidably supported on and spring biased downwardly from said platen,

3. having a valve member normally closed by said downward spring bias,and

4. a resiliently compressible annular sealing member affixed to thebottom end thereof surrounding said valve member and adapted tosealingly engage the open mouth of a container placed thereunder,whereby upon downward movement of said reciprocable platen each testhead sealingly engages the open top of a container thereunder andcontinued downward motion of said platen opens said valve member toapply hydraulic pressure internally to said container.

12. A pressure testing machine for containers according to claim 8wherein said means for subsequently applying a corresponding pluralityof fluid displacement sensors to said plurality of containers comprisesin combination,

A. a horizontally disposed vertically moveable press platen mounted onsaid machine for reciprocable motion above a plane test table on whichcontainers are positioned for testing,

1. means for moving said platen upwardly and downwardly in planesparallel to said test table,

B. a plurality of vertically disposed press heads corresponding to saidplurality of containers mounted on said platen and moveable therewith,each said press head having,

1. a plurality of chuck operated finger hooks for gripping the neck of acontainer placed thereunder,

2. means for effecting pressure sealing engagement with the mouth of acontainer thereunder,

3. a vertically moveable plunger passed through said sealing means andadapted to enter the mouth of a container thereunder whereby thepresence or absence of fluid therein may be detected, I v a. pressuremeans connected to said plunger for applying downward force thereto, b.reversible pressure means for raising said plunger, and i 4. meansincluding a chuck connecting said plunger with said finger hooks wherebysaid hooks are released upon substantial downward movement of saidplunger within a container.

13. A pressure testing machine for containers according to claim 8wherein said means for subsequently applying a corresponding pluralityof displacement sensors to said plurality of containers comprises incombination,

A. a first horizontally disposed press platen mounted on said machinefor vertical motion above a test table onto which said containers areplaced,

1. a first double acting piston operator mounted on said machine andconnected to said first platen for imparting vertical motion theretoeither upwardly or downwardly,

B. a second horizontal press platen mounted on and vertically moveablewith respect to said first platen, l. a second double acting pistonoperator mounted on said first platen and connected to said secondplaten for imparting vertical motion thereto ei ther upwardly ordownwardly with respect to said first platen,

C. a plurality of vertical press heads corresponding to said pluralityof containers, each said press head connected to each of said pressplatens and including:

1. a first hollow cylindrical member having an upper end attached to anda lower end depending from said first press platen, the lower end ofsaid 17 18 cylindrical member extending through a concensleeves wherebyall of said chucks are depressed to tric opening in said second platen,open all of said finger hooks when said second 2. an inner hollowcylindrical member concentric platen is moved downwardly in response tosaid with said first cylindrical member and slidably second doubleacting piston operator.

mounted in the lower end thereof with a bottom 14. Inautomatic-container handling machines, appaend of Said inner memberprotruding from the ratus for selecting, segregating and uniformlycentering l WeI' en f a first yli member, preselected groups ofcontainers as randomly delivered a. a resiliently compressibleannularsealing gasn a continuously moving conveyor, comprising:

ket affixed t the bottom end of Sald Inner A. an input table surfaceadjacent to, contiguous with W cylindrical member and adapted to 5631-10 and in the same plane as the end of a continuous ingly engage theopen mouth of a container h i l b l conveyor, Placed h r 1. said surfaceformed of a plurality of uniform linan h l shoulflel' formed on the ppend early extending segmented parallel block memsaid inner cyhhdl'lcalmember ehgageable bers having parallel slots therebetween extending withan annular Shoulder. formed the linearly in the direction of saidconveyor belt mobore of said first hollow cylindrical member to tion Ihmlt dwhward Sliding mom)" of Said inner B. a plurality of uniformlyspaced parallel horizontal hhdncahmemberr spacer bars extending linearlyin the direction of 0. first spring means within the bore of said firstSaid conveyor be motion mounted above and y q f f between the uppehend'of parallel to said input table surface, and extending sald lnnercylindrical member and sald first linearly between and parallel to SaidSlots I P f h for l h downward pressure on C. aplurality of linearlymoveable laterally extending "f cylmdr'cal memberg parallel blockmembers slidably mounted beneath a Pluramy of downwardly extendmg fingerhooks said table surface on a vertically moveable horizonpivotallymounted on and depending from the tally disposed platen outer P of smd sy hg g l. linking means interconnecting each of said seco Sprmg means138mg Sal epen 9 moveable block members with its adjacent movefingerhooks outwardly from the axis of said able block members firstcylindrical member l t 4. an outer cylindrical chuck sleeve slldably 2almearly moYeaPefil-s piston connected to the o m d said fir tc Iidricalmember nd last one of said moveable block members m u e S y n awhereby all of said block members may be substamlaliy closing. andrestiammg Sald finger moved linearly in the direction of said conveyorhooks against the bias of said second spring be motion means, a. thirdspring means between said first cylindriaplurahty of sprmg loadedviamcany moveable cal member and Said outer, chuck sleeve pins mountedin the last of said moveable block mally holding said sleeve in a raisedposition members and n a ly extending through s id whereby Said fingerhooks are closed against parallel slots in said table surface to providestops for containers accumulated in each row the force of said secondspring means and enf d f b I gaged with the neck of a container placed40 o P recewe tom Sal b. an inclined cam surface on said verticallythereunder, 5. a vertically moveable plunger slidably supported moveableP engageable the bottofn within said inner hollow cylindrical memberwith 9 9 waded P whereby sald its lower end extending through saidannular Pms f moved downwardly below the surfhce sealing gasket in aposition to enter the mouth of of Sam m h Sald blocks are moved acontainer placed thereunder, early hy Said Plstoh, an upper portion fSaid plunger passing D. second piston means for reclprocably mov ng saidthrough both of said press platens and conhlock PP h Pl p y tqcause Saidnected to a double acting piston within a sealed li extehdmg P to engagea sellfcted g p 9 pressure cylinder mounted upon said first w mdownwardly to disengage Said group of containers from said pins aftersaid group platen, 6. a vertically moveable push rod freely slidable hasbeen umformly separated m the 11mlr direction by operation of said firstpiston.

through aligned openings in both said platens, a. the lower end of saidpush rod engageable with chmhlhahoh 0f clalm Including,

the upper end of Said chuck sleeve and opera, A. a plurality Ofhoneycomb carrlers each open at 110p ble t depress id sleeve against hforce f and bottom and adapted to surround a predetersaid third springmeans whereby said finger mined group of con a n hooks may be opened todisengage the neck of 1. partition means in each of said carriers forunia contain r la d the d r, 6O formly spacing the containers therein,

b. means connected to the upper end of said push B. means forpositioning each of said carriers individl'od engageable with means onthe upper end of ually and successively over and around a presesaidplunger to depress said push rod into operlected group of containers onsaid input table surative engagement with said chuck sleeve when face,said plunger decends into a pressureless con- C. reciprocating linearconveyor means engageable tainer, and with each said carrier sopositioned for transport- I D. further means on said second platenengageable ing said carriers and containers to successive stawith eachof said plurality of press head chuck tions of a container testingmachine, and

D. recirculating conveyor means for removing each said carrier from itsgroup of containers upon completion of testing and for returning eachsaid carrier successively to said carrier positioning means at saidinput table.

16. The method of automatically selecting, segregating and uniformlyseparating groups of containers as randomly received in bulk whichcomprises the steps of:

A. first depositing containers at random onto a continuously movingconveyor,

B. separating containers on said conveyor into parallel rows by causingthem to pass between parallel linear guides onto a receiving table,

C. stopping the receipt of containers in each row at an exit edge ofsaid table, I

D. accumulating a full column of contiguously adjacent containers ineach row between said linear guides,

E. stopping the receipt of containers at the entrance edge of said tableupon the filling of all columns of said parallel rows, and

F. effectively stretching said receiving table linearly in the directionof said parallel guides to achieve uniform linear spacing of saidcontainers in each row.

17. Means for automatically selecting, segregating and uniformlyseparating groups of containers as randomly received in bulk comprisingin combination,

A. means for depositing containers at random onto a continuously movingunidirectional linear conveyor,

B. a stationary receiving table in substantially the same plane as thesurface of said conveyor and having one edge adjacent to the downstreamend of said continuously moving conveyor,

C. a plurality of uniformly spaced parallel horizontal spacerbars'mounted on said table and extending linearly in the direction ofsaid conveyor movement over the downstream end of said conveyor, toalign containers received therebetween into parallel laterally spacedlinear columns,

D. first moveable stop means along the edge of said table opposite saidone edge adjacent said conveyor, to form a barrier limiting furthermovement of containers received thereon,

E. second moveable stop means along the edge of said table adjacent saidconveyor and operable upon receipt of a predetermined number ofcontainers on said table between said spacer bars to in hibit movementof further containers, and

F. moveable means for effectively expanding said table linearly betweensaid first and second stop means to achieve uniform equidistant linearseparation between containers in each parallel linear column.

18. The combination of claim 17 wherein said moveable means foreffectively expanding said table linearly through said table,

B. a plurality of moveable members beneath said table and extendinglaterally parallel to said table surface in a direction substantiallynormal to said slots,

1. means linking adjacent members to each other to permit limited linearmotion therebetween in a direction parallel to said slots,

2. container engaging means mounted on said members and extendableupwardly through said slots,

3. first moving means for simultaneously moving all of said membersupwardly toward the bottom of said table, whereby said engaging meansextend through said slots above the top surface of said table to engagecontainers thereon,

4. second moving means for imparting linear motion to at least one ofsaid members whereby all of said members are moved through said linkingmeans expansively in a direction parallel to said slots, and

5. further means including said first and second moving means operablesubsequently to lower said members and said engaging means below thesurface of said table and to restore said moveable members compressiblyto their original condition in side by side relation.

19. In an automatic system for testing closed containers for structuralintegrity the combination comprising,

A. means for receiving a plurality of containers at an input station,

B. means at said input station for selecting and grouping apredetermined number of received containers into a uniformly centeredconfiguration wherein adjacent containers of a selected group areequally spaced from each other,

C. means for moving successive groups of said selected and centeredcontainers to a fluid filling station where all containers of each groupare simultaneously filled with fluid,

D. means for applying a predetermined hydrostatic fluid pressure to allcontainers in a group simultaneously, l

E. means including selectively operable individual container holdingmeans for sensing fluid displacement within each container of a groupsubsequent to application of said predetermined hydrostatic fluidpressure,

1. said holding means operable in response to the sensing of fluiddisplacement in any container to release said container, and to retainall containers in which no fluid displacement is sensed, and

2. further means operable subsequently to simultaneously release all ofsaid individual holding means. 20. The apparatus and method forautomatically testing closed containers for structural integritysubstantially as illustrated and described herein.

1. Means for testing closed containers comprising in combination, A.first means for simultaneously applying a preselected axial load andpreselected internal test pressure to a plurality of containers, and B.second selective holding means separate from said first means forretaining containers which withstand said axial load and internal testpressure and for simultaneously releasing all containers which fail towithstand either said axial load or said internal test pressure.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said holding means comprises incombination, A. a cyclically operable and closable bottom supportbeneath said separate holding means, B. a selectively releasable topsupport for each container under test, and C. sensing means responsiveto the presence of internal pressure within a container to maintain saidtop support in closed container holding condition while releasing saidtop support when no internal pressure is sensed.
 2. means responsive tothe sensing of fluid displacement to open said chuck and release acontainer in which fluid displacement is sensed.
 2. further meansoperable subsequently to simultaneously release all of said individualholding means.
 2. container engaging means mounted on said members andextendable upwardly through said slots,
 2. a linearly moveable firstpiston connected to the last one of said moveable block members wherebyall of said block members may be moved linearly in the direction of saidconveyor belt motion, a. a plurality of spring loaded verticallymoveable pins mounted in the last of said moveable block members andnormally extending through said parallel slots in said table surface toprovide stops for containers accumulated in each row of containersreceived from said conveyor belt, b. an inclined cam surface on saidvertically moveable platen engageable with the bottom end of said springloaded pins whereby said pins are moved downwardly below the surface ofsaid table when said blocks are moved linearly by said piston, and D.second piston means for reciprocably moving said block supporting platenupwardly to cause said vertically extending pins to engage a selectedgroup of containers, and downwardly to disengage said group ofcontainers from said pins after said group has been uniformly separatedin the linear direction by operation of said first piston.
 2. an innerhollow cylindrical mEmber concentric with said first cylindrical memberand slidably mounted in the lower end thereof with a bottom end of saidinner member protruding from the lower end of said first cylindricalmember, a. a resiliently compressible annular sealing gasket affixed tothe bottom end of said inner hollow cylindrical member and adapted tosealingly engage the open mouth of a container placed thereunder, b. anannular shoulder formed on the upper end of said inner cylindricalmember engageable with an inner annular shoulder formed in the bore ofsaid first hollow cylindrical member to limit downward sliding motion ofsaid inner cylindrical member, c. first spring means within the bore ofsaid first cylindrical member between the upper end of said innercylindrical member and said first platen for imparting downward pressureon said inner cylindrical member,
 2. means for effecting pressuresealing engagement with the mouth of a container thereunder,
 2. slidablysupported on and spring biased downwardly from said platen,
 3. having avalve member normally closed by said downward spring bias, and
 3. avertically moveable plunger passed through said sealing means andadapted to enter the mouth of a container thereunder whereby thepresence or absence of fluid therein may be detected, a. pressure meansconnected to said plunger for applying downward force thereto, b.reversible pressure means for raising said plunger, and
 3. a pluralityof downwardly extending finger hooks pivotally mounted on and dependingfrom the outer lower end of said first cylindrical member, a. secondspring means biasing said depending finger hooks outwardly from the axisof said first cylindrical member,
 3. first moving means forsimultaneously moving all of said members upwardly toward the bottom ofsaid table, whereby said engaging means extend through said slots abovethe top surface of said table to engage containers thereon,
 3. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said pressure applying means includesmeans for simultaneously filling all of said containers with fluid, andsaid holding means comprises in combination, A. a selectively operabletop engaging chuck for each tested container having,
 4. second movingmeans for imparting linear motion to at least one of said memberswhereby all of said members are moved through said linking meansexpansively in a direction parallel to said slots, and
 4. In anautomatic testing machine for determining structural integrity of closedcontainers as defined by claim 1, the combination comprising, A. aplurality of container engaging chucks, B. fluid sensing means withinsaid chucks whereby individual chucks are selectively operated in afirst mode to release containers in which fluid displacement is sensed,and C. further means within said chucks operable in a second mode torelease all of said container engaging chucks simultaneously, wherebysound containers are disengaged from the testing machine.
 4. meansincluding a chuck connecting said plunger with said finger hooks wherebysaid hooks are released upon substantial downward movement of saidplunger within a container.
 4. an outer cylindrical chuck sleeveslidably mounted upon said first cylindrical member and substantiallyenclosing and restraining said finger hooks against the bias of saidsecond spring means, a. third spring means between said firstcylindrical member and said outer chuck sleeve normally holding saidsleeve in a raised position whereby said finger hooks are closed againstthe force of said second spring means and engaged with the neck of acontainer placed thereunder,
 4. a resiliently compressible annularsealing member affixed to the bottom end thereof surrounding said valvemember and adapted to sealingly engage the open mouth of a containerplaced thereunder, whereby upon downward movement of said reciprocableplaten each test head sealingly engages the open top of a containerthereunder and continued downward motion of said platen opens said valvemember to apply hydraulic pressure internally to said container.
 5. avertically moveable plunger slidably supported within said inner hollowcylindrical member with its lower end extending through said annularsealing gasket in a position to enter the mouth of a container placedthereunder, a. an upper portion of said plunger passing through both ofsaid press platens and connected to a double acting piston within asealed pressure cylinder mounted upon said first platen,
 5. In anautomatic testing machine for simultaneously determining the structuralintegrity of preselected groups of containers, the combinationcomprising, A. a plurality of portable honeycomb carriers each adaptedto contain a group of containers,
 5. further means including said firstand second moving means operable subsequently to lower said members andsaid engaging means below the surface of said table and to restore saidmoveable members compressibly to their original condition in side byside relation.
 6. Means for simultaneously testing a plurality ofcontainers for structural integrity which comprises in combination, A.means for filling all of said containers substantially simultaneouslywith a fluid, B. means for applying a preselected fluid test pressuresimultaneously to all of said filled containers for a predeterminedtime, and C. releasable holding means responsive to fluid displacementsensing means for selectively engaging those containers which withstandsaid preselected fluid test pressure and for releasing those containerswhich have failed structurally following application of said preselectedtest pressure.
 6. a vertically moveable push rod freely slidable throughaligned openings in both said platens, a. the lower end of said push rodengageable with the upper end of said chuck sleeve and operable todepress said sleeve against the force of said third spring means wherebysaid finger hooks may be opened to disengage the neck of a containerplaced thereunder, b. means connected to the upper end of said push rodengageable with means on the upper end of said plunger to depress saidpush rod into operative engagement with said chuck sleeve when saidplunger decends into a pressureless container, and D. further means onsaid second platen engageable with each of said plurality of press headchuck sleeves whereby all of said chucks are depressed to open all ofsaid finger hooks when said second platen is moved downwardly inresponse to said second double acting piston operator.
 7. The method ofsimultaneously testing a plurality of containers for hidden structuralweakness which comprises the steps of: A. first filling said pluralityof containers substantially simultaneously with a fluid, B. thensubjecting said plurality of filled containers to a preselected fluidtest pressure applied simultaneously to all of said containers for apredetermined time, C. thereafter testing all of said previouslypressurized containers for fluid integrity by sensing fluiddisplacement, and discarding those containers in which fluiddisplacement is detected while retaining only those containers that havewithstood said test pressure and in which no substantial fluiddisplacement is sensed.
 8. A pressure testing machine for closedcontainers comprising in combination, A. means for simultaneously movinga preselected plurality of empty containers under a correspondingplurality of liquid filling spouts, whereby all of said containers arecompletely filled with liquid substantially simultaneously, B. means forconnecting a corresponding plurality of hydraulic pressure linessubstantially simultaneously to said plurality of containers, and forapplyling a preselected hydraulic pressure to each of said containerssimultaneously for a predetermined time, C. means for subsequentlyapplying a corresponding plurality of fluid displacement sensors to saidplurality of containers,
 9. A pressure testing machine for containerscomprising in combination, A. means for simultaneously moving apreselected plurality of empty containers under a correspondingplurality of liquid filling spouts, whereby all of said containers arecompletely filled with liquid substantialy simultaneously, B. means forconnecting a corresponding plurality of hydraulic pressure linessubstantially simultaneously to said plurality of containers, and forapplying a preselected hydraulic pressure to all of said containerssimultaneously for a predetermined time, C. means for subsequentlyapplying a corresponding plurality of liquid displacement sensors tosaid plurality of containers,
 10. A pressure testing machine forcontainers according to claim 8 wherein: A. said container moving meanscomprises a topless and bottomless honeycomb carrier adapted toengagingly fit over and substantially surround a plurality of containersrested on a plane table surFace, and
 11. A pressure testing machine forcontainers according to claim 8 wherein said means for connecting aplurality of hydraulic pressure lines to said containers comprises avertically reciprocable press platen having mounted thereon, A. aplurality of individual hydraulic pressure heads corresponding to saidplurality of containers, each said pressure head:
 12. A pressure testingmachine for containers according to claim 8 wherein said means forsubsequently applying a corresponding plurality of fluid displacementsensors to said plurality of containers comprises in combination, A. ahorizontally disposed vertically moveable press platen mounted on saidmachine for reciprocable motion above a plane test table on whichcontainers are positioned for testing,
 13. A pressure testing machinefor containers according to claim 8 wherein said means for subsequentlyapplying a corresponding plurality of displacement sensors to saidplurality of containers comprises in combination, A. a firsthorizontally disposed press platen mounted on said machine for verticalmotion above a test table onto which said containers are placed,
 14. Inautomatic container handling machines, apparatus for selecting,segregating and uniformly centering preselected groups of containers asrandomly delivered on a continuously moving conveyor, comprising: A. aninput table surface adjacent to, contiguous with and in the same planeas the end of a continuous horizontal belt conveyor,
 15. The combinationof claim 14 including, A. a plurality of honeycomb carriers each open attop and bottom and adapted to surround a predetermined group ofcontainers,
 16. The method of automatically selecting, segregating anduniformly separating groups of containers as randomly received in bulkwhich comprises the steps of: A. first depositing containers at randomonto a continuously moving conveyor, B. separating containers on saidconveyor into parallel rows by causing them to pass between parallellinear guides onto a receiving table, C. stopping the receipt ofcontainers in each row at an exit edge of said table, D. accumulating afull column of contiguously adjacent containers in each row between saidlinear guides, E. stopping the receipt of containers at the entranceedge of said table upon the filling of all columns of said parallelrows, and F. effectively stretching said receiving table linearly in thedirection of said parallel guides to achieve uniform linear spacing ofsaid containers in each row.
 17. Means for automatically selecting,segregating and uniformly separating groups of containers as randomlyreceived in bulk comprising in combination, A. means for depositingcontainers at random onto a continuously moving unidirectional linearconveyor, B. a stationary receiving table in substantially the sameplane as the surface of said conveyor and having one edge adjacent tothe downstream end of said continuously moving conveyor, C. a pluralityof uniformly spaced parallel horizontal spacer bars mounted on saidtable and extending linearly in the direction of said conveyor movementover the downstream end of said conveyor, to align containers receivedtherebetween into parallel laterally spaced linear columns, D. firstmoveable stop means along the edge of said table opposite said one edgeadjacent said conveyor, to form a barrier limiting further movement ofcontainers received thereon, E. second moveable stop means along theedge of said table adjacent said conveyor and operable upon receipt of apredetermined number of containers on said table between said spacerbars to inhibit movemEnt of further containers, and F. moveable meansfor effectively expanding said table linearly between said first andsecond stop means to achieve uniform equidistant linear separationbetween containers in each parallel linear column.
 18. The combinationof claim 17 wherein said moveable means for effectively expanding saidtable linearly comprises, A. a plurality of parallel slots extendinglinearly through said table, B. a plurality of moveable members beneathsaid table and extending laterally parallel to said table surface in adirection substantially normal to said slots,
 19. In an automatic systemfor testing closed containers for structural integrity the combinationcomprising, A. means for receiving a plurality of containers at an inputstation, B. means at said input station for selecting and grouping apredetermined number of received containers into a uniformly centeredconfiguration wherein adjacent containers of a selected group areequally spaced from each other, C. means for moving successive groups ofsaid selected and centered containers to a fluid filling station whereall containers of each group are simultaneously filled with fluid, D.means for applying a predetermined hydrostatic fluid pressure to allcontainers in a group simultaneously, E. means including selectivelyoperable individual container holding means for sensing fluiddisplacement within each container of a group subsequent to applicationof said predetermined hydrostatic fluid pressure,